Appeals court rules against Blaine County

HELENA - Blaine County's now-scrapped system of electing commissioners violated the federal Voting Rights Act by discriminating against American Indians, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conclusion of a federal judge two years ago that the county's at-large election system resulted in white residents voting as a bloc, thus preventing Indian-preferred candidates from getting elected.

The ruling rejected the county's arguments that no such racially divided voting patterns existed and Indians...